Electric lamp socket



Dec. 27, 1938. WR|GHT 2,141,587

ELECTRIC LAMP SOCKET Filed; May 20/ 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet l I l Z5 2 I Moe/mu;

DeC. 27, 1938. R N HT I .2,141,587

ELECTRIC LAMP SOCKET Filed May 20, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 SUM mu;

Patented Dec. 27, 1938 UNITED STATES,

iATENT OFFICE 2,141,587 ELECTRIC LAMP SOCKET Robert 'N. Wright, Gladewater, Tex.

Application May 20., 1935, Serial No. 22,418

3 Claims.

be readily attached to-or detached from the electrical contact wires and which maybe quickly and easily mounted or dismounted on a suitable support, whereby it is particularly adaptable for use in the lighting of oil well drilling derricks, or any 110 other place where temporary lighting is required.

Animporta'nt object :of the invention is to provide an electric .lamp socket which is provided with a clamping member, said member being arranged to co-act with the socket to fasten the HI socket in afixed position to a suitable support, whereby swinging of the lamp is prevented which reduces the breakage thereof to a minimum; the clamping member being arranged to be quickly and easily :iastened or detached, whereby the ED-time required in rigging up or removing temporary lighting installations is greatly reduced.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved electric socket having a clamp for securely fastening the socket to a suitable sup- RB-port, said socket being arranged to be attached to .and electrically connected to contact wires and held in such position when the clamp is in a clamping position; said socket further being constructed so that the contact wires to which it is *connected when clamped to a support, are insulated from said support.

A construction designed to carry out the invention will be hereinafter described, together with other features of the invention.

The invention will be more readily understood :from a reading of the following specification and by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which an example of the invention is shown, and wherein:

: Figure .1 is a side elevation'of anelectric socket, constructed in accordance with the invention and secured to a support,

Figure 2 is a longitudinal, sectional view of the socket, showing the contact wires attached thereto,

Figure 3 is a view of the socket partly .in elevation and partly in section, with the contact wires disconnected,

Figure 4 is .a transverse, vertical sectional view taken on the line 4-4 .of Figurefi,

Figure 51s a transverse, vertical sectional view, taken on the line 5-45 of Figure 3,

Figure 6 is aside elevation of another form of socket,

: Figure 7 is a front elevation .of the same,

Figure 8 is an elevation taken at right angle-s to Figure 6, and

Figure 9 is an isometric view of the clamp.

In the drawings, the numeral l0 designates a cylindrical shell or body which is constructed of -5 electrical non-conducting material. The outer end of the body is open and is provided with an outwardly flared, annular rim or lip l l. The inner end or bottom I2 of the body is closed (Figure 2) and has a substantial thickness. A medo tal-lic screw contact shell i3 is disposed within the body and has a snug fit therein. The inner end of shell 13 lies contiguous to the bottom or inner side of said body.

A headed prong terminal l4 extends through :15 the inner end of the shell and is secured .in the inner end of said body, whereby the shell is Iastened within the body. As clearly shown in Figure 2, the prong I4 is located at one side of the shell and has its pointed end 14 terminating 20 within a transverse groove l 5 formed .in the outer face of the end of the body. The prong l4 not only serves to secure the shell Within the body, but also, since it is constructed of metal, or other electrical conducting material, provides an elec- :25 trical contact.

A portion of the inner end of the shell I3 is cut out at I6 (Figures 2 and 5) to expose aportion ll of the bottom of the body. This exposed portion is preferably diametrically opposite the prong I4 .30 and an electrical contact 18 is secured to this portion of the body by a second prong terminal l9, similar to the prong I4. By observing Figure .2, it will be seen that the prong I 9 secured one end of the contact to the body, and passes through the ,35 body. The pointed end of the prong l9 terminates within a transverse groove 2-0 .formed in the body below the groove l5. The other end of the contact l-8 extends substantially to the center of the shell, so that when an electrical lamp A is screwed into the shell, the base contact 2| of said lamp will engage said contact. It is obvious that with the above arrangement, the electrical current will pass through the prong l9, contact 18, base of the lampA, through the shell I 3 and then 4-5 through the prong l4.

For fastening the electrical lead wires .22 and 23 which lead from a suitable source of electrical supply, and also for electrically connecting said wires to the prongs, a cylindrical base member .59 2-4, which is constructed of electricalnon-eom ducting material, is arranged to engage the outer face cf'the inner end of the body H3. The member is substantially cf the same diameter as the body and is slidably mounted on a pin 25 which extends outwardly from the inner end or bottom of the body. The pin is disposed axially of the body l0, and by observing Figures 2 and 3, it will be seen that it is of such length that when the base member is in engagement with the end of said body, said pin does not extend beyond the outer end of the base member.

In connecting the wires 22 and 23 to the socket said wires are positioned within the grooves'l5 and respectively. The base member is then slid inwardlyto engage the end of the body (Figure 2), thereby forcing the wires against the pointed ends of the prongs i4 and i9 which terminate within said grooves. These pointed ends puncture the insulation of the wires and engage said wires, whereby an electrical connection between said prongs andwires is made. It is pointed out that the prongs are very sharp so that only a slight puncture in the insulation is made, so that when the wires are removed, these punctures are unnoticeable. It is obvious that the wires may be connected to the socket at any point therealong,

Forholding the base member in engagement with the body and also for clamping the entire socket to any suitable support B, a U-shaped clamping member is provided. This member is provided with a cylindrical band or collar 2'! at the upper end of one leg 2? thereof. This band encircles the body Hi being located within an annular groove 28 to eliminate the tendency of said collar to slide longitudinally on'the body. The collar is tightened around the body and is held so by screws 28. By loosening the screws, the socket may be rotated within the collar to vary the position of the grooves 15 and 29 with relation to the support to which the socket is attached.

'The upper end of the other leg 26 of the U- clamp is turned so as to form a bearing-29 for a crank 33 which is threaded therethrough. The inner end' of the crank is preferably sharpened so as to tightly grip the support B when rotated to engage the same. i

In assembling the socket, the wires 22 and 23 are first placed in the grooves i5 and 20. The base member is then slid on the bolt 25 to force said wires against the prongs l4 and i9. After this has been done the socket is placed adjacent the support B, towhich it is to be attached, the

end of the base member engaging one side of said support. The disposition of the U-clamp is such that when the socket is placed against one side other side thereof. By rotating the crank, it will be seen that the socket is clamped to the support. Also, the base 'member is securely held against the body, thereby preventing disengagement of the wires 22 and 23 from the grooves.

If the support B happens to be metal, it is noted 7 that the base member 25, being of electrical non-. conducting material, serves to insulate the wires 22 and 23 from said support.

The simplicity and ease of attachment or detachment is an important feature of the device. In oil field practice, it is necessary to install a lighting system of some. nature on the drilling derrick. The usual practice has been to hang a number of sockets which are permanentlyconnected together over convenient projections around the derrick. Due to the permanent connections between the sockets, the sockets can not be placed where necessary because the particular distance between two sockets is not adaptable to the various locations on which that string of lamps are used. Further, the loose suspension of the lamps permits them to swing in the wind, causing the breakage of the lamps, which results not only in increased cost but also loss of time for replacement.

'With the socket herein shown and described, the rigging up and taking down of a temporary lighting system requires much less time. The sockets may be positioned where needed for they may be secured at any point in the wires 22 and 23. Once mounted, there is no danger of breakage, because each socket is firmly held in posi tion. Therefore, since each job requires a different location of its lights, better lighting is had, Cost is reduced and the simplicity of attachment reduces the time necessary for the installation to a minimum. When the crank is unscrewed, the 'base member 24'. is disengaged from the body id and the wires 22 and 23 removed. The punctures made by the prongs are unnoticeable and the life of the Wires is increased because the socket is at a different point thereon each time it is used. r

In Figures 6 to 9 inclusive, I have shown another form of clamping member. In this form, the U-shaped member 26 and crank 30 are elimihated and a clamping member ,35 substituted therefor. The member comprises a semi: circular band or collar 35 having a pair of legs 3'? made integral therewith. The legs are bent upon themselves at their outer ends to form feet 38 which are provided with slots 39. The semicircular band is arranged to fit around the shell ii] and a second semi-circular band 40 is adapted to be fastened to the first band by bolts 4| and 62, whereby the shell is carried by the clamping member; 1

The socket is exactly the. same in this form, and includes the base member 24 which holds the wires within the transverse grooves. The legs 3! are of such length that when the base member is in its innermost position (Figure 6) the feet 38 are in the same plane with the outer side of said base member. Therefore, when the slots 39 are engaged with a nail'45 so that the feet are beneath the nail head (Figure 6) the socket is not only suitably supported, but the base member is held'in engagement with the shell, whereby the wires are held in their attachedpositions. It is obvious that the feet may be readily engaged under or disengaged from any nail, screw or the like which is secured in any suitable support.

7 In both forms, the clamping means not only of said support, the crank 31] is disposed on the serves to support the socket but also prevents disengagement of the wires from the grooves as a unitary assembling means having a combined function of supporting the socket and holding the wire engaging member in position, as has been explained. V

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is: 7

1. An electric lamp for attachment to a supporting member including, a body having a socket: for receiving a lamp bulb and having transverse grooves for receiving electrical conductors, contacts in the body for conducting current from the conductors to the lamp bulb, a base member for engaging the body and covering the grooves for holding the conductors therein, and a U-clamp having a collar to be securedto the body and also having a screw member for engaging a support, whereby the body may be fastened to the support, the base member being held in an engaged position over the conductors in said grooves between the body and'support.

2. An electric lamp device for attachment to a supporting member including, a socket adapted to receive an electric lamp, one end of the socket having grooves for receiving electrical current supply conductors, metallic prongs extending from within the socket into the grooves thereof, a slidably mounted base of electrical insulating material having one end exposed for contact with v the supporting member and the opposite end arranged to engage the socket thereby covering said grooves and forcing the electrical conductors into said grooves and into contact with said prongs, a U-shaped carrying member rigidly attached to the socket, and means for removably attaching the U-shaped member to the supporting member with the exposed end of the base in contact with said supporting member.

3. An electric lamp device including, a body having a socket for receiving a lamp bulb and having grooves in its outer end for receiving electrical supply conductors, a base member having a slidable connection with said body for holding the conductors within the grooves, the opposite end of said base member being adapted to engage a support, a clamp attached to the body and having legs extending longitudinally of the body, and means at the end of said legs for fastening the clamp to the support, said legs being of such length that when the base member is held in its engaged position between the body and the support said base member contacts the body and the electrical conductors.

ROBERT N. WRIGHT. 

